On the surface, the game lags behind its smaller cousin by some distance.

While the original now boasts four batches of levels and additional types of birds to boot, Angry Birds HD launches in the same form its predecessor started out in; just the two collection of stages populated by the original array of feathered friends.

Still, if Angry Birds seemed utterly at home on iPhone, then this high-definition release is a mansion on iPad. There's no denying little has changed from one generation to another, but the fact it works so well is perhaps testament to the brilliance of the original design.

Coming home to roost

Both gameplay and controls remain unchanged. Your job is fire a series of birds towards an assortment of defences built by a pack of pesky pigs.

Using said birds as a crude form of ammunition, you're tasked with taking out each and every pig – either by direct contact, or causing their house to fall down around them.

Initially the birds on offer do nothing but fly, but as you move through the game their abilities increase. You can drop bomb-like eggs, fire them like missiles, or even split them into three separate dive bombers.

The levels themselves have been lifted wholly from the original game, the visuals naturally sharpened and the view zoomed out a touch. The camera hasn't been pulled back fully, though, and you still have to catapult your birds a fair distance from your target.

Bird's-eye view

Pulling the view out a touch makes the game feel as if it's been designed to accommodate iPad's notably larger screen. Yet, it has to be said that more could have been done to seize the potential of that expanded screen space.

Ultimately then, Angry Birds HD is a replication of the original release on iPhone without the inclusion of bonus iPad content, options, or other new features.

It sits neatly on iPad because so little has changed beyond an aesthetic adjustment, and while many players will get by stretching the original release to fit iPad's larger dimensions via the x2 superscale button, it's hard to criticise publisher Chillingo/Clickgamer and developer Rovio for wanting to serve up their goods in an HD premium form too.

Yet the original version runs with little hassle on iPad and for a cheaper price, making Angry Birds HD a good, but not great package.